


The Neighbor

by Surrealx3



Category: The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Post-Iron Man 1, Reclusive Tony, sorta - Freeform, teenage loki
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-02-16
Updated: 2017-01-12
Packaged: 2018-05-21 00:43:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,399
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6031963
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Surrealx3/pseuds/Surrealx3
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Loki is a troubled youth and Tony is a troubled recluse (So Tony if he never found out Stane was trying to kill him, faced several attempts on his life and was treated badly by everyone but Pepper and Bruce).</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> So I wrote this up a while ago and decided why not put it out there. This is probably medically inaccurate in so many ways, I wouldn't know, I haven't been a hospital patient since I was born. This is a **one-shot**. The result of a half-formed idea.

**__**Being ostracized, he could handle. The brutal insults and beatings were tolerable. He just had to close his eyes and go numb. That way, nothing could hurt him.

But this. This was just cruel. How could they take away his only salvation? The only bright spot in his miserable existence. They took it away from him and threw it into the yard of the ‘mad scientist.’ He was reluctant to believe that it was really a mad scientist that lived beyond the concrete walls surrounding acres on top of acres of land but the explosions gave no other explanation. Only strange black cars with tinted windows ever went in or out of the property. No one had ever seen the landowner, making him more myth than human.

So of course they had to throw his precious book into the No Man’s land.

“Go get it, Loki,” Sif taunted, “I bet he won’t even kill you. You’ll just be his lab rat.”

 “You know what,” Fandral smirked dangerously, “I’ll even help you over.”

Loki glared at them silently but didn’t walk away. Part of him was willing to take the risk to get his book back and he actually believed Fandral. The boy would help him over if there was a chance that there was something worse than him on the other side. He glanced at the wall, measuring the possibility for him to get in and out without anyone noticing. It wasn’t very high if those cameras were following their movements as well as they seemed to be. Was he really up to facing the ‘mad scientist’?

He sighed, “Fine. Give me a lift.”

Fandral grinned deviously and wove his fingers together to make a step. Warily, Loki placed a foot in his hands and let himself be boosted up to the top of the wall. He nearly had a grip on the top of the wall when a wave of mischief surged through Fandral and he found himself being propelled up, over the wall and free falling on the other side. All he felt from the impact was a knife of pain then everything went dark.

When he drifted back into consciousness, he found a scruffy haired man slapping his face gently.

“Come on, kid,” the man grumbled, “Don’t die on my property. How will I explain that to Pepper? Here we go, come on. Keep those eyes open.”

Loki blinked, slowly setting his brain in gear to analyze just how bad this situation was. He sat up slowly, willing himself to not give in to his dizziness. “Who are you?”

The man snorted, “You trespass onto my property and ask who I am? Your parents must have taught you better than that.”

His vision was swimming, he did not have the energy to argue. “I’m Loki and I believe I have a concussion.”

“I’m Tony and I believe you do. Let me help you up and we’ll get you into my house and hopefully get you some medical help.” Tony held pulled Loki’s arm around his shoulders and held onto his waist, “Slowly now. Your brain has had enough jolting for one day.”

Loki agreed silently as he let himself be half carried into a surprisingly luxurious crystalline white home. Somehow, he figured that a scientist would live in some run down house that had as many hole in the roof as it did explosions but no, it was almost frightening perfect, like a Hollywood celebrity’s home.

He allowed himself to be led into a bedroom (not that he was in any condition to deny help) and laid down willingly.  

“Okay, buddy, you relax and try to sleep, I’ll be back in an hour to make sure you’re still alive.”

“And if I’m not?” Loki couldn’t help asking.

Tony paused thoughtfully and shrugged, “I’ll get rid of the body and pretend like I never saw you in my life.”

“You,” Loki yawned, “Humanitarian, you.” His eyes fluttered close as Tony chuckled.

“Yeah, I know.”

 

 

When he woke a second time, his mind was much more intact than the first. It hit him that he had met the infamous ‘mad scientist’ and for someone that was supposedly mad, he was rather easy-going and even nice. The scruffy hair and goat tee made him look like a normal guy but as Loki recalled their conversation, he realized that Tony was in no way ‘normal.’ A normal guy wouldn’t have a huge house surrounded by a concrete wall. A normal guy would have been seen living his house at least once. A normal guy wouldn’t live in a house surrounded by woods but create explosions large enough to be seen from miles away.

“Hey, kid,” Tony walked in carrying a bowl of soup. Just from the smell, he could tell it was cream of mushroom, not his favorite but an acceptable meal. “I brought you soup since I’m not quite sure how this concussion thing works. Can you eat solids? Can you even eat? Am I supposed to wait two hours after the concussion is contracted to feed you? I should have asked Bruce. Anyway, here.”

Loki sat up, eyes scanning the spacious room, “Nice place.”

“Thanks,” Tony handed the bowl slowly, hovering to make sure that Loki was together enough to not drop it. “So, Loki, right?”

Loki nodded, “And as you said, you’re Tony. Will you honor me with a last name?”

“Woah, woah, woah,” Tony grinned, “You’re a cute kid but I don’t think I’m ready for that type of commitment. Still getting over a bad break-up, you know?”

Loki pursed his lips, “Not really. People aren’t exactly my area.”

“Oh,” Tony’s smile withered a bit and he nodded, “Yeah, I, I’m sort of on the same boat. I don’t really understand how their heads work.”

Loki examined him curiously, “Is that why you’re a recluse living in a house surrounded by walls and security cameras?”

Tony shrugged, “I guess.”

“Seems a bit overkill, doesn’t it?”

The corner of Tony’s mouth twitches up for a moment then straighten out, “Maybe, but that’s me. Mr. Overkill. Always going a step too far and pissing everyone off.”

Loki found himself nodding in agreement. He couldn’t help adding, “Then the one time you think you’ve done something right, someone’s there to tell you how wrong you were. Just stay in your lane.”

“Don’t get in the way.”

“Slink back into your room.”

“Or your lab.”

“Or the library.”

They both chuckled dryly, not quite amused but appreciative of their similarities.

After a moment of sordid silence, Tony said with false cheer, “Well eat up. I made that especially for you. Do you know how rare it is for me to cook for someone else? Well, you obviously don’t considering you don’t know me but it’s pretty damn rare.”

Loki smiled, “Well in that case, thank you so much, Mr. Tony.”

Tony’s physically flinched, “Never say that again. It’s Tony. Just Tony.”

“How about Anthony?” Loki smirked as Tony cringed again, “Not a fan of your given name, I take it.”

“Not at all, do not call me that. Ever,” Tony said sternly.

Loki just replied with a wicked smile, “But Anthony has such a nice ring to it.”

“Okay, you eat so I can get you out of my house,” Tony said, “Anyone who likes the name ‘Anthony’ can’t be good for my sanity.”

Loki snorted, “Says the man infamously known as a mad scientist.”

Panic flashes briefly over Tony’s face, “What do you mean? Who calls me that?”

Loki regarded him curiously, “The whole neighborhood. The explosions are hard to ignore.”

“Oh, oh that,” Tony relaxed, “Yeah, they got one part right. I am a scientist. You can’t make an omelet without breaking a few eggs, you know?”

Chuckling, Loki commented lightly, “If you say so.”

Tony smiled back, “Once you’re done, just drop the bowl off in the kitchen. It’s just down the hall. Hard to miss really.”

“Alright, thank you for your generosity.”

“No problem, kid.”

 

 

Loki finished off the soup quickly, surprised by his own appetite. He slid out of the queen sized bed, landing on soft cream carpet. He glanced at his worn poison green sneakers laying neatly to the side but left them there in favor of returning the bowl to the kitchen. His footsteps were muffled by the fluffy carpet as he padded down the hall and peeked around the corner. Like Tony said, there was a kitchen and beyond the kitchen, a cinematic television playing old Looney Tune cartoons. He stopped by the kitchen briefly to drop the bowl in the sink then padded over to where Tony sat, eyes fixated on the television.

He didn’t even look before patting the cushion next to him. “Take a seat, kid. Anything you’d like to watch?”

Loki shrugged, “I’m not big on TV. I wouldn’t know what to watch.”

Tony wasn’t surprised, “How about a movie? I can put on some popcorn.”

“Are you always this accommodating to trespassers?” Loki couldn’t help asking.

Tony chuckled, “Depends on how cute they are. You’re a solid ten so count yourself lucky.”

“Just a ten?” Loki rose an eyebrow, “I would at least say eleven on a ten point scale.”

Tony guffawed, “Okay, fine, eleven. You’re pretty enough to warrant a free pass into here. Just go to the gate next time and they’ll open.”

“Really?” Loki looked at him skeptically, “For someone so determined to keep everyone out, you’re rather generous with invites.”

 Tony shrugged with faux carelessness, “I’m always willing to offer a sanctuary for someone who needs it.”

The words simmered beneath Loki’s skin for a minute before he said, “You saw.”

Tony shrugged again, “The cameras aren’t for decoration. If people linger outside for too long, I’m alerted.”

“You’re paranoid.”

Tony snorted, “Says the intruder.”

“Okay, so maybe not paranoid,” Loki relented, “So you’re running from someone. Who is it?”

“Why don’t I ask you about your home life?” Tony retorted defensively, “Or maybe why those kids seem to hate you so much?” Loki went silent, rolling his eyes at Tony’s pointed glare. “Exactly, intrusive questions don’t seem so fun anymore now, do they?”

“Sorry,” Loki muttered sullenly.

“Apology accepted as long as this subject never comes up again.”

“Agreed.”

“Movie?”

“Sounds lovely.”

“Do you want to pick?”

“You can do the honors.”

“Okay, but don’t complain about what I choose. Jarvis, play Lord of the Rings: Fellowship.”

“Yes Sir.”

Loki nearly jumped out of his skin at the British lit voice that came out of seemingly nowhere. Tony laughed at the expression on his face and apologized while the opening credits for Lord of the Rings played on the screen.

“Sorry, kid, forgot to introduce you. That’s Jarvis, the AI that basically runs my house and does everything I’m too lazy to do. J, this is Loki, the brat that trespassed.”

“It is a pleasure to meet you, Mr.  Loki,” the voice, Jarvis, greeted him.

Loki was reluctant to admit it but he was impressed, “You made him?”

Tony nodded causally, “I invent a lot of things. It’s just what I do.”

“That’s well…amazing,” Loki admitted.

“I’m amazing. Fact of life.”

“You’re also very arrogant.”

“Also a fact of life,” Tony quipped.

 Loki found himself laughing, a sound almost foreign to him. Tony grinned in response and nudged him with his elbow.

“Would you look at that? Pretty boy can smile.”

 


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> So people were like, "You should continue this," and I was like, "Yeah, when pigs fly." Then I saw a pig outside the window and here we are.

"I'm leaving," Loki called, purely for the sake of his mother. Though, unfortunately, Thor was around for once and not hanging out with his delinquent friends. 

"Brother, where are you going?" Thor demanded, swinging into the hallway, "You are not going to visit the mad scientist again, are you?"

Loki was well acquainted with the feeling of wanting to strangle Thor, but it was actually rare to feel this much blood lust towards him. He glared at his brother, "It is none of your business where I am going, Thor."

"Wait a second, Loki," Frigga came out behind him, hands on her hips. "Where are you going?"

Loki groaned internally, recognizing the formidable 'mother bear' stance. "I'm just going to hang out with a friend, mother."

"My friends have seen him going in and out of the mad scientist's house for the last two weeks," Thor tattled.

"He is not a mad scientist," Loki spat, "He's just a scientist and he's very kind. He offered a sanctuary away from you and your thug friends because there's no where else I can go. I can't even go to the library anymore without one of you harassing me and getting me kicked out."

Thor was opened his mouth to argue but Frigga hushed him. Her expression was stern as she ordered diplomatically, "Thor, why don't you go to your room?"

Thor looked between the two of them, glaring briefly at Loki, and retreated up the stairs to his room.

"So Loki," she offered him a kind smile, "Why don't you tell me more about this new friend of yours?"

A bit of tension left Loki's shoulders now that Thor was gone but he was still wary. "He's a scientist but he's not mad. Maybe eccentric but definitely not mad."

Frigga nodded understandingly, "And his name is?"

"Tony."

"Full name?"

"Anthony."

Frigga sighed, "Loki, I would like to know this man's entire name."

Loki inspected the floor as he admitted timidly, "I don't know his entire name."

He heard Frigga sigh again. "How old is he?"

Loki shrugged, "Late thirties, probably."

"Loki."

"He's not going to attack me, mother," Loki blurted, "He's not that type of person. And he wouldn't take advantage of me. You know I am exceptionally at reading people, trust my judgment."

"I do, Loki," Frigga rubbed his arms and pulled him into a hug, "I do. I am just protective of my sons. I would feel better if I met him myself." She pulled back so she could look at him properly. "Would you please invite him over for dinner this afternoon for the sake of your mother's piece of mind?"

"I'm not sure if he will accept," Loki warned weakly, "He is a recluse for a reason."

"Just ask," Frigga smiled warmly, "He will come."

Loki nodded obediently and left out, dragging his feet until he reached Tony's gates. Usually, he had to punch in the code to get in but this time, the gates opened up as soon as he reached them. That, in itself, made Loki perk up. Either Tony was awaiting him impatiently or he was annoying JARVIS by being impatient.

The first thing he heard when he walked in was, "How about a tracking device under stays under the skin? Then there's no way it could break or detach itself from him. I'm sure I can fix the audio thing."

JARVIS was obviously projecting Tony's voice so Tony must have been in his lab. Loki stayed silent, deciding to try to figure out the context for that. JARVIS responded to his creator, "That idea requires significantly greater amount of consent than you're planning to obtain, sir."

"Okay, Mister, enough with the judginess," Tony retorted, "The last time Loki was late, he came here with bruises. Bruises, Jarv. And he tried to play it off as nothing. This way, he won't have to say anything, I'll just be casually strolling by just in time to send the fuckers to jail for assault."

"I'm sure he appreciates the sentiment, sir."

There was a pause. "J, he's not here now, is he?"

"Indeed he is, sir. I initiated two way communication upon his arrival."

Tony pounded on something metal, "That's it, mister. You are getting sent to the nearest community college right away." 

"But I like him," Loki complained playfully, "He's so great at making you look like an idiot. Though, I guess I can't give him all the credit for that."

"Fuck you," was the last thing he said before appearing, "So what do you want to do? I want to watch a movie and pretend like you didn't hear any of that."

"Well I," he began haughtily but his voice softened as he continued, "Want to thank you for your concern but I don't need you to save me from a few morons."

Tony shrugged, going for nonchalant despite his pout, "Yeah, I know. But it wouldn't hurt to get this on their permanent record, you know. Well, it'll hurt them but that's the point, isn't it? Or I can make you your own BB-8. "

"What good would a BB-8 do me?"

"If you let me add a laser, a lot of good."

Loki threw his head back and laughed, "You're impossible."

"That's a compliment coming from you. 'What good would a BB-8 do you?'" Tony scoffed, "Most people would jump at that offer. So why were you late? You look okay."

Loki's smile withered and he sighed, "My mother wants to meet you."

Tony blinked at him. "What?"

"My mother, the one who gave birth to me, wants to meet you, the fool who sets himself on fire constantly," Loki clarified, giving him his patented, 'are you daft?' look.

"Yeah, no, I heard you but... why?"

"Apparently, constantly visiting someone who's twice my age is reason for worry," Loki explained, rolling his eyes, "So she wants to meet you to make sure than you will not make off with my maidenhood."

Tony's face contorted, clearly conflicted. "Yeah, okay, I guess as a responsible adult, I can understand."

"Responsible?"

Tony rolled his eyes, "I guess as an adult, I can understand."

Loki smirked, "Adult?"

Tony reached over and ruined Loki's perfectly orderly hair by ruffling it mercilessly. "Yes, adult. Text your mom and tell her I'll come."

Loki's anger was staved off by how shockingly easy it was to get him to agree. "Really?"

"Yeah, what's the worst that could happen?" 

 


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dinner with the parents?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I forgot ALL about this story until someone (you know who you are) commented on it recently and for that, I apologize. Life plus the hundred of other stuff I was working about got in the way. But damn, me, this was half written already and I upped and forgot about it.

Loki eyed his phone with obvious displeasure then he tucked it into his pocket. Only to take it out again a second later and glower. Tony elbowed him to get his attention, smiling in amusement.

"Doth thou phone insult thee?"  

Loki sighed heavily, "No, but the time for us to leave is approaching rapidly."

"So is the end of the movie, which you haven't watched at all because you were too busy mentally eviscerating your phone. I mean, I know it sucks but Jurassic Park is a classic and it's kind of insane that you've never watched it. "

"It's literally just dinosaurs eating people."

"With crappy 90s graphics."

"That hardly makes it more appealing."

"Everyone's a critic," Tony bemoaned, fainting casually on top of Loki.

Loki could easily handle the weight. Even though Tony was a bit wider than him, he was definitely taller. Despite that, it just wouldn't do to not complain about the weight sprawled out on top of him. "Didn't you mention something about being a diet? I hope you're being faithful to it."

Tony snorted, "Darlin' you know I'm light as a feather."

"I'm sorry to disappoint but I have picked up a feather before. It's hardly an apt comparison." He checked his phone again and stood abruptly, "We have to go."

"Right, right," Tony looked down at his grease smudged clothes. "Maybe I should change."

Loki was torn between yelling at him for not noticing sooner and demanding he left as he was. "Just go, hurry. Wear something presentable."

"If I may," JARVIS interjected, "Sir has been lax when it comes to his facial hair until now but perhaps he should trim it now that he's leaving the house."

Loki groaned loudly, mostly angry at himself for not thinking that far. "Yes, Jarvis, he should definitely shave. Tony, go and hurry. I'm going to grab some wine to gift to my mother as an apology for being late."

"We're not going to be late," Tony shouted, already shuffling out the room.

\- - - - -

 

"Okay, so we're a tad bit late. It's not the end of the world," Tony said half a hour later. They had just parked outside Loki's house. Tony was scratching his newly shaved chin and smiling disarmingly. 

Loki groaned, "We were supposed to be early."

"We can just say the traffic was bad."

"You live less than ten minutes away. What traffic would we be talking about?"

"They don't know that."

"Yes," Loki corrected, temper flaring, "they do."

"Oh... Damn."

"I thought you were supposed to be a genius," Loki bemoaned. "Come on, they're waiting for us and Norns, please tell me that's not Odin's car in the driveway."

Tony paled, "Uh, is his car the silver pick-up?"

"He's supposed to be on a business trip. What is he doing back home already?" Groaning, Loki sunk into his seat, "Never mind, let's go back to your place and pretend this never happened."

"Um, I don't think we can do that unless you're wrong about this being your house and the blond isn't Thor coming to tell us off."

Loki's head snapped up to see Thor storming their way. He hurried to unbuckle his seat belt and practically jumped out the car. "We're coming, Thor. I don't want you saying anything to my guest until mother is present."

"Right, your guest," Thor's eyes went over his shoulder to Tony, disdain clear in his scowl. "Mother says she hopes you won't make us wait much longer."

"We'll be right there," Loki shooed him away.

Thor stalked away after one last glower, leaving Loki and Tony to stand there uneasily.

"Well," Tony nodded towards the door, "Lead the way, captain. I'll follow you even if it does get me arrested."

"You won't be arrested," Loki said, the statement coming out more uncertain than he wanted. He led Tony into the house, straight to the kitchen, where the entirety of his family waited. Heat still wafted from the plates Frigga set out, probably since she waited from them to appear to actually make them. From the head of the table, Odin channeled decades of disapproval through one eye as soon as Loki walked into the room and managed to double it when he saw Tony. Thor was scowling like a witless brute, determined to look even more idiotic than usual. His mother, though, gave them both a welcoming smile. She sat at Odin's right while Thor sat across from her. Loki quickly decided that he'd suffer sitting next to Thor and give Tony the seat beside his mother.

"Welcome, I'm Frigga Borson," she held out a hand. Loki saw a tenseness in her shoulders and the quick once-over she gave Tony. Yes, she appeared to be welcoming but even she had her reservations. 

"Tony Carbonell," Tony replied easily, shaking her hand. "It's a pleasure to meet you. Loki's a real momma's boy so he talks about you all the time."

"I am not," Loki argued, the words out his mouth before he knew it.

His mother was giving a fond look like she was already quite sure he was. "He's always been so sweet. Please take a seat, Mr. Carbonell. Thank for accepting my invitation."

"Who am I to say no to free food?" Tony smiled sweetly. "I brought this for you." He headed over the white wine that Loki picked out.

"Oh, how nice," she examined it, pleased. "Thank you. Please, make yourself comfortable. I'll be right back." She disappeared briefly to put the wine up.

Tony sat down, smiling at Thor and Odin and receiving nothing but glares in return. He probably expected as much. Fortunately, Frigga picked up the conversation as soon as she returned.

"So, Mr. Carbonell," she began, "What do you do?"

"Please, just Tony. And I'm a mechanical engineer. I've heard that the explosions are a bit hard to miss," he quirked a grin at Loki that he didn't fail to return. "Military grade technology require quite a bit of testing before they can be used. Sorry about that."

Frigga was visibly surprised, "Oh, it's no problem. We certain want our soldiers to have the best."

"Agents too. Every agency is the same, always wanting the shiniest toys and not a single word of thanks. I bet you can relate after raising these two," Tony grinned at her with a boyish charm. 

Frigga giggled, "Well yes, Thor couldn't survive a commercial break without declaring that he wanted something new." She ignored Thor's indignant 'mother.' "Loki, though, had far more exotic taste. For quite a while, he was determined to have a snake, then the moment we gave him one, he turned around and wanted a wolf. I'm not even sure how long the poor thing survived."

Loki interjected, "Fairly long, mother."

"Then you forgot it needed to be fed?" Tony guessed correctly.

"I never heard you mention any pets," Loki shot back.

"Because I knew better," Tony gloated. "Living things are not my area so I built robots instead. More useful and easier to clean up after."

They both jumped when Odin said, "Surely someone with the type of intellect you claim to have would have better things to do than befriend seventeen year old boys."

Tony took his accusatory tone gracefully. "If you're not-so-subtly asking whether or not I'm a predator, the answer is no, Loki is just very intelligent and makes a great lab assistant and it'll definitely make his transition into college next fall easier if he has someone who can not only rely on as a mentor. And really, we just both love being sarcastic and poking at stuff until they explode. You'd be surprised at how rarely I find friends like that."

Odin didn't reply but glared at him with his one eye. Tony stared back defiantly, letting them fall into an uncomfortable silence.

Surprisingly, it was Thor that broke the silence by asking, "Do you work on cars?"

Loki groaned, "Don't get him started."

"You hush," Tony scolded playfully. He turned to Thor, "Now I'm currently working on a real beauty I like to call Marlene," Loki zoned out this point, happy enough to watch the expressions on Tony's face as he talked about his beloved cars. That ended up being a conversation even Frigga could take part in. Odin didn't speak much throughout the rest of dinner, which Loki counted as another plus. By the time Tony left, he was convinced that the dinner has went well. Completely convinced. 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Did I mention how I have no idea where I'm going with this? I'm not even sure how true that Frostiron pairing is. It may end up onesided or just not acted upon because of that huge age difference I gave them for no particular reason other than failure to plan ahead *nervous chuckle* So, yeah, tell me what's on your minds. Do you mind the age difference? Are you hoping it just dies here? Gimme all the opinions minus the mean ones.

**Author's Note:**

> Comment, Kudo and say hi at my [ tumblr](http://bookish-air.tumblr.com/)


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